WR Brown accuses former coach Callahan of sabotaging Super Bowl

Former Raiders wide receiver Tim Brown said coach Bill Callahan may have sabotaged Oakland’s chances of winning Super Bowl XXXVII against Tampa Bay 10 years ago by changing the game plan two days before the game.

Although stopping short of blaming Callahan, Brown suggested that the change in plans could have contributed to Pro Bowl center Barret Robbins’ going AWOL from the team and missing the Super Bowl due to substance abuse.

In an interview on SiriusXM NFL Radio, Brown said the Raiders knew they didn’t have a chance to beat the Buccaneers when Callahan switched from a run-oriented plan to a pass-heavy attack on Friday.

“We get our game plan for victory on Monday, and the game plan says we’re gonna run the ball,” Brown said Saturday in a transcript provided by ProFootballTalk.com. “We averaged 340 (pounds) on the offensive line, they averaged 280 (on the defensive line). We’re all happy with that, everybody is excited. ”

Then, Brown said, Callahan inexplicably switched plans on the Friday before the game and planned on “throwing the ball 60 times.”

“We all called it sabotage . . . because Callahan and (Tampa Bay coach Jon) Gruden were good friends,” Brown said. “And Callahan had a big problem with the Raiders, you know, hated the Raiders. You know, only came because Gruden made him come.
Literally walked off the field on us a couple of times during the season when he first got there, the first couple years. So really he had become someone who was part of the staff but we just didn’t pay him any attention. Gruden leaves, he becomes the head coach. . . . It’s hard to say that the guy sabotaged the Super Bowl. You know, can you really say that? That can be my opinion, but I can’t say for a fact that that’s what his plan was, to sabotage the Super Bowl. He hated the Raiders so much that he would sabotage the Super Bowl so his friend can win the Super Bowl. That’s hard to say, because you can’t prove it.

“But the facts are what they are, that less than 36 hours before the game we changed our game plan. And we go into that game absolutely knowing that we have no shot. That the only shot we had if Tampa Bay didn’t show up.”

Brown said Robbins pleaded with Callahan to stick with the original game plan. As the center, Robbins was responsible for making line calls, which he had practiced all week anticipating a pass-happy attack, Brown said.

“Barret Robbins begged Coach Callahan, ‘Do not do this to me. I don’t have time to make my calls, to get my calls ready. You can’t do this to me on Friday. We haven’t practiced full speed, we can’t get this done,'”

“I’m not saying one had anything to do with the other,” Brown said. “All I’m saying is those are the facts of what happened Super Bowl week. So our ire wasn’t towards Barret Robbins, it was towards Bill Callahan. Because we feel as if he wouldn’t have did what he did, then Barret wouldn’t have done what he did.

“Now, should Barret have manned up and tried to do it? Absolutely. But everybody knew Barret was unstable anyway. So to put him in that situation — not that he was putting him in that situation — but for that decision to be made without consulting the players the Friday before the Super Bowl? I played 27 years of football. The coaches never changed the game plan the Friday before the game. I’m not trying to point fingers at anybody here, all I’m saying is those are the facts of what happened. So people look at Barret and they say all these things, but every player in that locker room will tell you, ‘You’d better talk to Bill Callahan.’ Because if not for Coach Callahan, I don’t think we’re in that situation.”

Purvisman/Intrepid/Eternal Optimist Says:
January 28th, 2013 at 11:05 pm
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Fear not. We will create an emoticon for pootbut.
In honor of KK.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
No one is more deserving!

RaiderLen

Scourge Says:
January 28th, 2013 at 11:08 pm
I think it would be funny if someone got KK into a tizzy and then suggested that they had a better, different kind of realty job for him. Selling cemetery plots. KK wouldn’t have to go out looking for buyers, they come looking for him. He could stay affixed to his chair. And no “they be dying to see him” jokes.
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LOL, That’s comedy gold! “They be dying to see Him” GTFO!

Scourge

If KK 2.0 is around, he should be the one to do it.

Scourge

Or maybe Scourge, during on one of those occasions when he sees KK and decloaks.

RaiderLen

Thanks Guys for the remedial course in emoticons.

Gotta get out of the House early tomorrow.

This has been a blast!

Peace.

425Raider

New smilies for WordPress:

:gopissupatree:

:thesecoachesarentreadyforprimetime:

:horsesass:

:allentocoachseniorbowlin2014:

:knappindenverisallrightbyme:

:ijustsawreggieandmarkinthelocalihop:

:wtf:

:justwinbaby:

Scourge

Later, Len.

Purvisman/Intrepid/Eternal Optimist

This is my SandBPride profile.
joined Oct 18, 2008
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Read this post for a while before I dared voice an opinion. That is going back aways, isn’t it?

Purvisman/Intrepid/Eternal Optimist

:pootbutt: comes first.

Purvisman/Intrepid/Eternal Optimist

Maybe JWB.

Purvisman/Intrepid/Eternal Optimist

OK, definetely JWB!

Purvisman/Intrepid/Eternal Optimist

Any spell checkers out there can kiss my…

Scourge

Just Win Baby!

Scourge

Yeah, that would be a good one.

Purvisman/Intrepid/Eternal Optimist

Never underestimate purse swinging.
“he with the biggest purse..wins”

Purvisman/Intrepid/Eternal Optimist

After Mr green and I figure out how to get the Raider logo in here, we’ll do an Al Davis JWB smily face.

Purvisman/Intrepid/Eternal Optimist

Speak of the devil..

Mr. Green

Back atcha!

Purvisman/Intrepid/Eternal Optimist

Way too easy.

Scourge

P-Man, it’s been fun. I’m really beat and need to sack out. Thanks to you (and your “crew”) for the chuckles. maybe catch you tomorrow…..

Alot of December and January weren’t snowy, but colder than fk. Well, for here anyway. Shirtsleeves, right now at 3000 feet in the Sierra Foothills. I’ve seen a bit more severe here and wonder what March has in store.

DJ Johnny

Purvisman/Intrepid/Eternal Optimist Says:
February 4th, 2013 at 7:26 pm
DJJohnny, We’ll need to be bouncing back and forth a bit.
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To encourage the cool people to come join us you mean?

DJ Johnny

Purvis, I know…weird huh? This is the first significant snow we’ve had.

I finally broke down and bought a snow blower for the 1st time in my life and I have to admit it’s actually fun to work….when it starts.
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Talk to me in ten years. And I’m a SoCal boy who thought the snow was pretty cool at first.
Anything up to a foot is mighty pretty. Iy can get ugly after that. Especially if it doesn,t go away because it never warms up for a month.
Makes you realize the importance of shoveling it out the way everywhere you may want to walk .
Made that mistake one year with 3 feey on the ground for 5 weeks.

DJ Johnny

So you’re in the Sierra foothills? If I understand it they encompass part of Nevada and California?

DJ Johnny

At the risk of someone coming on and blasting me by saying “and where did all that get us?” I will say I kinda miss the wheeling and dealing of our esteemed former owner.

Yes, I know he made some bad acquisitions and horrible draft picks etc. but he would always do things that at least allowed me to be delusional during the offseason with a level of expectation and excitement.

We don’t get much of that anymore. I know…the cap, years of mismanagement etc. etc. and most are happy we’re becoming more like the other 31 now, but the delusional expectations were part of the deal I signed up for.